The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on setting the second wave of national milestones for Wales that will assist Ministers in assessing progress towards achieving the seven well-being goals as set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
It’s important that we draw on the views and experiences of people across Wales as we carry out this work and we invite you to contribute. We are keen to hear your views on the proposals. The consultation closes on the 12 September so there is plenty of time for you to respond and share your thoughts and we want to hear from as many people as possible on the proposals.
We would also appreciate your support in raising awareness of this work through any newsletters or networks that you might run. If you have any engagement events of your own you would like to us to come along to share this work, please let us know.
The Welsh Government is committed to using the Well-being of Future Generations framework to create a stronger, fairer, greener and more compassionate Wales, addressing the unprecedented challenges we face. Our focus through our Programme for Government is on the ways we can improve the lives of people in Wales both now and in the future.
We are looking forward to hearing from you and working together to shape Wales’ future.
Today we have published a consultation which seeks views on extending the well-being duty on named public bodies in Part 2 of Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The consultation also seeks views on the opportunities for public bodies not subject to the Act.
The consultation will run from 14 July to 20 October 2022.
The Minister for Social Justice has published a Written Statement to launch the consultation.
It is important that we draw on the views and experiences of organisations and people from across Wales as we carry out this work and we invite you to contribute.
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on setting the second wave of national milestones for Wales that will assist Ministers in assessing progress towards achieving the seven well-being goals as set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The consultation will run from 21 June to 12 September during which time we will be undertaking a programme of engagement to raise the profile of this important work and seek wider views.
The Minister for Social Justice has published a Written Statement to launch the consultation.
It’s important that we draw on the views and experiences of people across Wales as we carry out this work and we invite you to contribute!
As part of the Shaping Wales’ Future programme, the Welsh Government has published the first wave of Wales’ national milestones under the seven well-being goals, an updated suite of national well-being indicators, and the second edition of the Future Trends Report Wales.
These are three important parts of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 that tell us about the progress we’re making towards our well-being goals, help us better understand any challenges we might face on the way and ensure we seize the opportunities we have to do things better. You can access the publications here:
We will use the publication of the national milestones, updated indicators, and Future Trends Report as a platform to bring renewed focus on what matters to Wales and where progress is needed, and to ensure that we are better prepared to meet the challenges and seize the many opportunities that lie ahead.
In partnership with Public Health Wales, Natural Resources Wales, and the Future Generations Commissioner’s Office, Welsh Government recently held a series of workshops with Public Services Boards (PSBs) across Wales on considering future trends as part of their local well-being assessments. The aim of the workshops was to explore the trends that could be driving change in the long term and how futures thinking techniques can help PSBs evaluate what that may mean for their well-being assessments.
Background
Ahead of the publication of the Future Trends Report Wales 2021 in December, the workshops provided an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of embedding long-term thinking when assessing local well-being.
Under the Well-being of Future Generations Act, PSBs must publish an assessment of the state of economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being in their areas no later than the date of an ordinary local government election. Their local well-being plans must be published within a year of those elections.
The assessment must include predictions of likely future trends that may impact the well-being of the area, and refer to the Future Trends Report to ensure the long-term needs of the area are taken into account.
Exploring the dynamics of change
The aim of the workshops was to provide an opportunity for PSBs to discuss the key trends that will be featured in the Future Trends Report, to what extent these trends may relate to the various regions within Wales, and how they may affect planning for the future.
Workshop attendees were provided with a list of likely trends and were asked to complete an impact-certainty matrix using the digital collaboration platform MURAL. Categorising the trends in this way can help identify what next steps, if any, are required (see Figure 1). This futures exercise required attendees to consider what the impact of each trend would be on their local area and think about how certain they are about the impact, and how important they think it will be in terms of affecting well-being. Officials supported the PSB attendees in exploring the potential impacts of a specific trend where they felt the potential impact was important but uncertain. Some key questions were asked during the workshop:
What could the potential outcome of this trend be?
Do you consider this trend an opportunity or a threat?
What action can you take to harness this opportunity or mitigate this threat?
Who else do you need to engage with to help you better understand the issue or take action?
Figure 1. An impact-certainty matrix (not Welsh Government policy)
Some key principles to consider were also outlined in the workshop, including:
Embracing and managing uncertainty
When dealing with uncertainty, the more you think about how different scenarios could play out, the more questions and uncertainties you are likely to uncover. The future is an uncertain place and the aim of futures thinking is not about how to find the ‘right’ answer but about how to make the best possible decisions by thinking about all the possibilities, and by flushing out potential assumptions and biases.
Involving others
It is important to involve people with an interest in the well-being of the area to better understand the potential impacts of trends. Incorporating diverse perspectives will challenge existing assumptions and will uncover blind spots. Anyone who is likely to use the outputs of the assessment should be involved in their development if possible.
Moving to more conscious futures thinking
‘Futures thinking’, or ‘scenario planning’ is something humans do every day – we make decisions based what we expect to happen as a result. It is important to remember that we are not passive observers; we have a role in determining the shape of the future.
The outcome
The 90-minute workshops helped start to uncover the trends that PSBs need to think about, to monitor, and those which are important for the well-being of an area but have an uncertain outcome. The workshops helped strengthen the understanding of the trends, identify some initial knowledge gaps, and helped attendees consider additional stakeholders to involve going forward. The workshop also gave attendees practical experience of a futures-based exercise. We hope this can act as a blueprint for further such exercises within the PSBs.
The futures exercise used during the workshops was based on the ‘Driver Mapping’ tool included in the UK Government’s Futures Toolkit. This exercise represents just one of many different tools that can help embed long-term strategic thinking within the local well-being assessment process. Many futures tools are flexible, and can be adapted as required. We would encourage readers to explore some of the other futures tools and resources available:
This year we are setting National Milestones for Wales. We hope for these milestones to play an important role alongside the Programme for Government in fulfilling our commitment of delivering a stronger, fairer and greener Wales. We have been working closely with stakeholders to develop our thinking on draft national milestone values in eight important areas, and these have become the national milestones we will set in 2021 and areas are the values we are seeking views on in our current Shaping Wales’ future consultation.
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on setting national milestones for Wales that will assist Ministers in assessing progress towards achieving the seven well‑being goals as set out in the Well‑being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The consultation will also ask whether any revisions need to be made to the existing national indicators following the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The consultation will run from 1 September to 26 October 2021 during which time we will be undertaking a programme of engagement to raise the profile of this important work and seek wider views.
It’s important that we draw on the views and experiences of people across Wales as we carry out this work and we invite you to contribute!
The Minister for Social Justice has published a Written Statement to launch the consultation.
Thank you for taking the time to find out more about National Milestones and how they will assist Ministers in measuring whether progress is being made at a national level towards the achievement of the well-being goals. The goals aim to help set us on a sustainable path for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language.
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